Can't restore my jailbroken iPhone and have an appointment with the Genius Bar

[askfareed]

Hi, basically my iPhone 4 is water damaged and it won't power up in ANY way whatsoever unless i put it in the wall charger, it won't even boot up if i put it through normal usb to the iMac. So i want to give it to apple tomorrow for them to put in a new battery, however as it is jailbroken i don't think they will fix it. So i went to reset and erased all content, but when it starts up it still has that coloured line on top of the apple logo so they will know it is jailbroken. And after that it just goes to a black screen.

So has anyone got any advise on how to get rid of that coloured line as that's how they will know it is jailbroken. I can't do anything on the phone either because it goes to a black screen. So the only way left is for me is to do something so that everytime it boots up it goes into DFU mode or make it crash in a way that it needs a restore and doesn't go to that coloured line boot up screen.

 

[lionheartednyhc]

Hi, basically my iPhone 4 is water damaged and it won't power up in ANY way whatsoever unless i put it in the wall charger, it won't even boot up if i put it through normal usb to the iMac. So i want to give it to apple tomorrow for them to put in a new battery, however as it is jailbroken i don't think they will fix it. So i went to reset and erased all content, but when it starts up it still has that coloured line on top of the apple logo so they will know it is jailbroken. And after that it just goes to a black screen.

So has anyone got any advise on how to get rid of that coloured line as that's how they will know it is jailbroken. I can't do anything on the phone either because it goes to a black screen. So the only way left is for me to make it go into DFU mode or make it crash in a way that it needs a restore and doesn't go to that coloured line boot up screen.

You do realize it makes no difference since your warranty is already void from water damage?

 

[crawfish963]

I'm almost certain they have, but check to see if your water sensors (located in the headphone jack and 30 pin connector port) are red/pink in color. If so, your water sensors have been tripped and you will never get warranty service from Apple.

Sorry to hear about your luck.

 

[askfareed]

the dock water sensor has turned red, but the headphone jack is still white, because earphones were plugged in while it dropped.

 

[celticpride678]

the dock water sensor has turned red, but the headphone jack is still white, because earphones were plugged in while it dropped.

It doesn't matter. The water sensor has been triggered - they won't service it under warranty.

 

[dgstan]

The point people are making is that since your moisture sensor has turned red, your warranty is void regardless of the jailbreak status.

 

[aristobrat]

So i want to give it to apple tomorrow for them to put in a new battery.

You might want to call ahead. Per Apple's FAQ, they will not do battery replacements on liquid damaged devices.

The reason is, they don't actually "put in new batteries" at the Genius Bar. What they do is trade your old iPhone (with the bad battery) for a replacement iPhone (with a brand new battery) and charge you $79. Since your old iPhone is essentially worthless (because of the liquid damage), they're unable to do that transaction for the price of a battery repair. They will do that transaction for the price of an out-of-warranty repair, which in the US is $199.

Your phone being jailbroken means nothing for the $199 out-of-warranty repair. As a matter of fact, you could stomp on it and break the screen (so they can't see the line), or put your iPhone in the microwave for 15 seconds (so it won't even boot), and they'll still replace it for $199.

Note: Your iPhone is not eligible for Battery Replacement Service if the product has been damaged, for example, as result of an accident, liquid contact, disassembly, unauthorized service or unauthorized modifications, or if the product is not operating correctly as a result of a component failure. Please review Apple's Repair Terms and Conditions for further details.

http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/service/battery/

 

[askfareed]

well in the uk i saw a tv program about the water sensor issue and apple state that the warranty is only broken if both water sensors are triggered. As in hot countries because of moisture they can be triggered, so they have changed their policy on that.

So i am quite sure about that part, i want to know what to do about the jailbreak line, what can i do so that doesn't come up? Can i brick it, or make it in DFU mode somehow?

 

[eastercat]

If the dock was pink, you might have a case; that could be due to high humidity. However, you said it's red; that tells apple you water damaged it.

Be prepared to pay $199.

well in the uk i saw a tv program about the water sensor issue and apple state that the warranty is only broken if both water sensors are triggered. As in hot countries because of moisture they can be triggered, so they have changed their policy on that.

So i am quite sure about that part, i want to know what to do about the jailbreak line, what can i do so that doesn't come up? Can i brick it, or make it in DFU mode somehow?

 

[askfareed]

it can turn red due to high humidity as well, the point is they said they will only void the warranty if both are fully triggered. So no suggestions im leaving in an hour

 

[anonymous6237]

it can turn red due to high humidity as well, the point is they said they will only void the warranty if both are fully triggered. So no suggestions im leaving in an hour

Possibly but the fact that the phone is damaged to the point of not working means it was more than just humidity. Warranty claims are basically a judgement call of the genius and/or their manager. They're not going to believe that your red water sensor was because of humidity. Pay $199 and be happy that Apple even gives us that option.

 

[iFanaddic]

A guy at the apple store told me they are 4 sensors

1 in 30pin connector
1 in the headphone jack
2 in the iphone

if one of the 2 first one is red/pink they have to open it to see the 2 sensors inside, if one of those is pink/red the warranty is not applied. If they're not pink or red they won't open up you're iPhone to check inside. If the sensors in your connector and headphone jack changed color but not the ones inside your Warranty is still valid.

So from what I understood, Apple considers the sensors in the connector and the jack as an indicator to know if they have to open it or exchange it right away.

 

[TMar]

it can turn red due to high humidity as well, the point is they said they will only void the warranty if both are fully triggered. So no suggestions im leaving in an hour

There are other sensors inside the phone. Last time I heard if 1 of the 2 viewable sensors where tripped they opened the phone to check the internal ones. You said you were able to access the phone? Why not use cydia to remove all UI changes and apps? Last resort I would erase all content and settings. They would not question this because a lot of people do it prior to exchanges as to remove personal data from the device before devices are exchanged. As others have said it's not likely they will change the battery because of the prior damage so any repairs would become a liability to them.

 

[askfareed]

ok this is what happened, he couldn't turn it on, so he connected it to the laptop and he still couldn't connect it, then he tried to put it in DFU mode several times and finally it worked and he tried to restore it but it failed twice. So he never saw it was jailbroken because it never got to the boot up stage on the iphone. He looked into the dock connector to blow into it, but im not sure if he checked for water damage because he didn't check the headphone jack sensor. Anyway i got a new iPhone! lol!

 

[eastercat]

You lucked out. Congratulations.

ok this is what happened, he couldn't turn it on, so he connected it to the laptop and he still couldn't connect it, then he tried to put it in DFU mode several times and finally it worked and he tried to restore it but it failed twice. So he never saw it was jailbroken because it never got to the boot up stage on the iphone. He looked into the dock connector to blow into it, but im not sure if he checked for water damage because he didn't check the headphone jack sensor. Anyway i got a new iPhone! lol!